Gun show now issue

Newtown killings cited in demand for ban on semiautomatic sales

Updated 7:45 am, Wednesday, December 19, 2012

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Tuesday's City Council meeting opened with a moment of silence for the shooting victims of Newtown, Conn.

But speakers later addressed gun violence and called for banning the sales of semiautomatic weapons from gun shows held in the Saratoga Springs City Center.

City resident Charles Brown lamented the presence of semiautomatic guns at the show, which is scheduled to return to the city center Jan. 11 to 13. Alan Turkheimer asked for more police to monitor the event.

The show's longtime organizer, Saratoga County-based NEACA Inc., recently settled a case with state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman after undercover law enforcement officers allegedly found gun sellers conducting sales without required background checks at one of last year's shows.

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A Westchester County gun show was canceled after Friday's school shootings, and Saratogians should insist that assault weapons aren't sold at next month's gun show in the city, Public Safety Commissioner Chris Mathiesen said. "I think it's really important this city take a stand on this," he said.

Christopher Peake told the council he was working with police, elected officials and private citizens to initiate a gun buy-back program in which the city or a donor pays gun owners for their weapons. Peake also wants Saratoga County to outlaw assault weapons with magazine clips.

"Assault weapons are the weapons of choice for people who do what they have been doing in these massacres around the country," Peake said.

But it was the gun show that had surfaced as an important issue, Supervisor Joanne Yepsen, D-Saratoga Springs, said. She told the council she had spoken with city police, representatives of Schneiderman's office and the city center to schedule a meeting with the gun show operator in early January.

"We're hoping the gun show can feature the hunting aspects, but not the high-tech, military-style weapons," Yepsen said. "We cant change federal and state laws, but I do think we can do something in the community."

NEACA intends to host four three-day gun shows in the city next year, including dates in January, March, August and October, according to its website. The attorney general's investigation resulted in three Saratoga County men being charged with misdemeanors for allegedly failing to conduct background checks on weapon purchases. The sale or transfer of a firearm, rifle or shotgun at a gun show without conducting a background check is a crime.

Last month, NEACA and another gun show operator, Niagara Frontier Collectors Inc., of Chautauqua County, agreed to implement new procedures at their shows, including a tagging system designed to ensure background checks are performed on buyers of all firearms at shows. The companies also agreed to post signs throughout the shows that criminal background checks must be completed; to work to prevent illegal gun sales outside of the building; to alert local law enforcement that a show will be held in their area;and more.

On their website, NEACA says they will follow all the new rules. "We have always obeyed all the state and federal laws in our firearms dealings and at the NEACA shows we promote," the site states.

In other actions, the City Council and the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed separate resolutions asking state leaders to name Saratoga Raceway and Casino among seven casinos in the state should members of the state Legislature and voters approve legalizing casino gambling.